¶ MedicalDirector Clinical - MD Sidebar fails to load
Symptom: The MD Sidebar fails to load; not just the widget, the whole MD sidebar component. There may only be a spinning loading icon showing along with the word “Sidebar” on the right side of the window.
The first place to look for clues is in the MD Sidebar logs. To find them:
- Open the following folder: C:\Users\Public\Documents\HCN\MD\
- Open the file named Hcn.Sidebar.LOG
- Look for any indications of error, exception or failed
- Begin troubleshooting!
One error/exception that may appear in the log could be as follows:
Exception caught
System.Net.WebException: Unable to connect to the remote server ---> System.Net.Sockets.SocketException:
The requested address is not valid in its context [proxy_address_here]
at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.DoConnect(EndPoint endPointSnapshot, SocketAddress socketAddress)
at System.Net.ServicePoint.ConnectSocketInternal(Boolean connectFailure, Socket s4, Socket s6, Socket& socket,
IPAddress& address, ConnectSocketState state, IAsyncResult asyncResult, Exception& exception)
--- End of inner exception stack trace ---
at System.Net.HttpWebRequest.GetResponse()
at Hcn.SideBar.DRMClient.DrmRequest.GetWidgetLicences()
at System.Net.HttpWebRequest.GetResponse()
at Hcn.SideBar.DRMClient.DrmRequest.GetWidgetLicences()
Another example could be as follows:
Invalid URI: The hostname could not be parsed.
at System.Uri.CreateThis(String uri, Boolean dontEscape, UriKind uriKind)
at System.Uri..ctor(String uriString)
at System.Net.WebProxy..ctor(String Host, Int32 Port)
at Hcn.Common.NetworkSettingsApplicator..ctor(NetworkSettings settings)
at Hcn.SideBar.DRMClient.DrmManager.GetWidgetLicenses()
In both of the above cases, the issue is due to a misconfigured proxy setting. Windows has its own proxy settings which can cause this issue, though MD also has its own proxy setting that will adversely affect all workstations on the network when set incorrectly.
¶ Check Windows proxy settings
1. Go to the old Windows Control Panel, then to Internet Options
2. Click on the Connections tab
3. Click on LAN settings
4. Check to make sure that nothing is ticked in the Proxy server area at the bottom of this window. Note that Automatically detect settings may be ticked or unticked and shouldn't cause an issue (default is ticked, although having it ticked will increase page loading times when browsing the web)
¶ Check the MedicalDirector proxy settings
Yes, MedicalDirector has its own proxy settings adjustment utility. This is most likely where the misconfiguration exists.
1. Open the MedicalDirector Maintenance application using the desktop icon or from the Windows start menu
2. Then from the Maintenance tasks - common section, open Network Settings
Note: you will need to log in as an MD Admin user (not Windows user, an MD user with high level settings access)
3. Check the settings. Below is a screenshot of the defaults. If you are having issues with the sidebar or connectivity from within MD Clinical, try unticking the Use custom proxy settings check box
4. Click the Test connection... button to ensure connection is working - this should be successful if you have no other Internet connectivity issues and the MD servers are online
5. Click the OK button and close the MedicalDirector Maintenance window
Note: the settings in this Network Settings window above is a global setting that will affect all users on the network running MedicalDirector applications. This means that all PCs will have had the same MD sidebar and Internet connectivity issues if this is set incorrectly!
¶ MD Sidebar Cache Issues
If you've checked the Sidebar logs already and can see the following error (or any other unexplained errors), it is worth emptying out the MDSidebar WebView2 cache files for the user running the widget. This is a per Windows user thing so if the issue is solved for one person, it may be necessary to run the same fix for other Windows users.
Example of cache-related LEMR Widget error from Hcn.Sidebar.LOG:
14/01/2025 15:40:48: Script error
Uri: https://ui.lemr.com/mdsidebar/entry.html
Description: mdInterface is not defined
Line: 25
The solution is to rename the MDBrowser cache folder in the Windows users' temp directory (%temp%).
E.g. Rename C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Temp\MDBrowser\ to C:\Users\User\AppData\Local\Temp\MDBrowser_old\
Then try the widget again. If this doesn't help, try uninstalling the LEMR Widget and reinstall after renaming the cache folder as above.
More information regarding is available here under the title Enable, disable and uninstall the LEMR widget.
Need Help?
LEMR customers can get help by contacting LEMR Support.